1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to aquarium displays for displaying fish and other aquatic life. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved aquarium display configuration of the type where multiple aquarium tanks are placed in a vertically stacked relationship to provide increased display volume in a minimum of floor space.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of aquarium displays it is very desirable to display species of fish and other aquatic life in a way that they can be closely observed by a viewer in a convenient manner. This is particularly true in a retail sales setting, where a display is for customers interested in purchase of the displayed aquatic life. Usually conflicting with this goal is the necessity to maximize the volume of water in a display per square foot of floor space occupied by the display, to achieve maximum economy in floor space used. This is a practical consideration in a retail setting, as floor space is at a premium.
Conventional aquarium displays for this purpose comprise wall or aisle displays where multiple aquarium tanks are configured one above another, supported by a vertically stacked stand or shelving arrangement. A significant drawback of such an arrangement is that an observer standing close to the display cannot see the entire volume of water in a display tank above eye level or a tank positioned relatively low, below eye level, in such a vertically staked aquarium tank display. Observers are required to either stoop down or somehow raise themselves, or back away a relatively large distance from the display to see all the contents of the tanks positioned relatively high or low in a stacked display system. The latter option is not desirable, as it is intended that the displayed species of fish and other aquatic life be observed closely by a customer. The former option is inconvenient for a customer and therefore highly undesirable. Consequently, in conventional stacked aquarium displays the top and bottom areas where aquarium tanks might otherwise be placed are unusable if the above-described problems are to be minimized.
Previous attempts at solving this problem have included making the bottommost aquarium tanks relatively thin in the front-to-back dimension so as to minimize the area of such tanks which is not observable by a customer standing requisitely close to the display. Of course this measure also minimizes the volume of water in the bottom tanks at the same time, with the result that little is actually gained in terms of display volume. Since overall display volume is the factor determining the number of fish or other aquatic forms that can be displayed per unit of floor space, this is not an entirely acceptable solution.
Other attempts at solving this problem involved providing a stepped arrangement of tanks, the aquarium tanks being stepped away from an aisle so that the lower tanks can be serviced from the top, but the tanks can be vertically crowded closer together to maximize the display volume within the usable height that is not too high or too low. This also places the upper tanks farther from the observer allowing more volume in the upper tanks to be observed. However, this solution is not satisfactory due to the fact that the configuration requires more floor space, which cancels any advantage in increase in observable tank volume. Additionally, the customer cannot observe the contents of the upper tanks as closely without leaning over the lower tanks, which is inconvenient, and therefore undesirable.
Servicing of the above described stepped displays, including for example adding or retrieving species of aquatic life for sale, cleaning the aquarium tanks, etc, is more difficult as personnel performing servicing tasks must somehow lean, or be supported, over the lower aquarium tanks in accessing the upper tanks. Also, the stepped supporting structure of such displays is necessarily more complex and therefore more costly.
Furthermore, the cost of constructing the support frame for an aquarium display is only one facet of the cost of manufacturing aquarium displays. Aquarium displays typically incorporate numerous individual display tanks. Of course at least one side of each display tank must be clear, and this is usually done by providing tank walls formed of clear glass or plastic.
Forming tanks using these materials usually involves high labor costs. Particularly, when plastic is used great care must be taken in forming and aligning the various wall, bottom and top members of the tank so that the pieces can be bonded together in a fluid tight manner. Moreover, when clear materials are joined together care must be taken to insure that the joint is done so that the appearance of the joint will be pleasing and not distract from the appearance of the display tank. This is particularly important in retail displays. Since aquarium displays typically incorporate numerous tanks, the cost of manufacture of the tanks is a large component of the cost of the entire display.
Hence, those concerned with the development and use of aquarium displays have long recognized the need for an improved aquarium display which will allow more water volume per unit of floor space at a low cost of manufacture and yet allow the customer to conveniently view the contents of all the aquarium tanks in the display. It has also been recognized that it would be desirable to have such a display be relatively easy to service and maintain. The present invention fulfills these needs.